1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an arm board or arm rest for supporting the forearm, wrist and hand of a patient during intravenous therapy.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In intravenous (IV) therapy, a needle attached to a tube connected to an IV bag is typically placed in a vein of the patient proximate a limb joint such as the elbow where the veins are closer to the skin and more accessible, and infusion, transfusion, phlebotomy or other procedures or therapies are performed by drawing or passing fluids through the tube. It is desirable in many instances to support the limb proximal its joint at the IV site.
Previously, this was accomplished by simply placing a short board or splint along the limb, and then securing the limb to the splint board as with tape, and the IV tubing might either be simply taped down along a portion of the patient's arm or otherwise made fast to the splint in order to prevent any movement of the IV needle in the vein or possible displacement of the IV needle from the vein. Such techniques often resulted in discomfort to the patient due to the non-conformability of the splint board with the patient's forearm and hand.
Various types of prior art supports, immobilizers and restraints have been proposed for use in association with IV therapy in lieu of the splint board, some of which are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,693,794 and U.S. Design Patent No. 170,885 to Nevill, U.S. Pat. No. 3,724,456 to Waxman, U.S. Pat. No. 3,722,508 to Roberts, U.S. Pat. No. 3,812,851 to Rodriguez, U.S. Pat. No. 2,744,526 to Saylors and U.S. Pat. No. 4,502,477 to Lewis, each of which had disadvantages, either due to the discomfort to the patient or the difficulty and expense in manufacture.
An improvement to the prior art devices is seen in my prior patent No. 5,025,801 which included a contoured support having adjoined forearm, wrist and hand support surfaces for conformally supporting the ventral surfaces of the forearm, wrist and palm of a patient. A hand grip was provided adjoining the palm support surface, and thumb recesses were provided on each side of the hand support to enable the patient to grip the support. A tubing support member was pivotally mounted at the hand grip to provide support for IV tubing, the tubing support being pivotable about its hand grip mounting, as well as vertically adjustable with respect to the hand grip, with locking or clamping mechanisms manually operable for fixing the tubing support in place. While this device had certain advantages over prior art IV arm supports, it was somewhat cumbersome and difficult to use and never received widespread acceptance.